U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,619 by Simkin, filed Apr. 18, 1996, is a personal alarm system that can transmit the location of the person sending the alarm to a monitoring station. The '619 patent is housed in a rectangular box with a plunger to activate the alarm. The '619 patent does not include a camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,233 by Hoffman, filed Jan. 21, 1997, is a device for tracking an individual that can transmit the location of the individual to a monitoring station. The '233 patent includes a means for two-way voice contact. This means could be created using a cell phone transmitter and receiver. The location of the device is monitored by computer at a monitoring station. The monitoring station can send help to the individual. A possible monitoring station is a dispatch operator. The device can be a bracelet. The '233 patent does not include a camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,380, filed Mar. 30, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,556, filed Oct. 31, 2002, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,135, filed Jan. 30, 2003, all by Curatolo, all describe a location device that is two devices that send an alarm when the distance between them exceeds a certain maximum distance. The alarm is sent to a monitoring station that includes information on the location of each device. The means to send the alarm and the location information could be sent by a cell phone communication network. Each device can also transmit both voice and data. The monitoring station could be the police, or could be a home unit. The monitoring station could also send the alarm and location information to a remote receiver. The '135 patent is the only one of the three that includes a video camera element. The '135 patent video camera can transmit and receive video signals. The main difference between the '135 patent and the present invention is that the '135 patent requires a two unit system. This patent clearly does not effect the one unit versions of the present invention. The patent is also unlikely to effect the two unit version of the present invention because the way the two units interact is different in the patent and the present invention. Unlike the present invention, the '135 patent requires that the two units send a signal to a monitoring station. The '135 patent does not have the units send a signal between the two units.
The Curatolo patents all claim a two unit system were the units work together to send a signal when the distance between the two units is too great. The present invention also has this feature. The difference between the present invention and the Curatolo patents is that the Curatolo patents only send a signal to the monitoring station when the distance between the two units exceeds a certain maximum. The present invention has the child's unit send an alarm signal directly to the parent's unit. Then either the child's unit or the parent's unit can send a signal to the monitoring station.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,015,817 by Copley, filed Oct. 15, 2004, is a device for monitoring the location of an individual. The device is claimed as a wearable object. The device transmits the location of the individual using a GPS system and a cell phone network. The monitoring station could be the police. The '817 patent does not include a camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,139 by Kuhn, filed Apr. 26, 2004, uses a home network to monitor the location and media access of a child. The child is wearing a device that broadcasts the child's location. The '139 patent includes a version with a biometric access device. The '139 patent claims a general method of controlling a child's access to a media device using a biometric. The patent also claim's a specific method of using a biometric means to control a child's access to a media device. The specific means requires either a speech biometric or a speech biometric and a fingerprint biometric.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,589 by Schumidt, filed Nov. 3, 2002, is a very specific method of tracking an object using electromagnetic pulses. These electromagnetic pulses can be from a cell phone or a GPS unit. The envisioned use is a means to track a child.